Military test flights may not always go as planned. Looking at the bigger picture, these test flights are a good idea, making sure everything is working, as it should, especially with something as complex as an airplane. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, crashes still take place during flight tests. Recently, an Airbus A400M crashed in southern Spain after takeoff for a test flight near Seville.
Airbus A400M Development
The Airbus A400M is a multi-national military transport aircraft with four propellers. It is a large, powerful aircraft that serves as a tactical airlifter and is strategic as it is deemed more versatile than other transport aircraft offered by other aircraft designers. It has become popular as a replacement for older aircraft that most military fleets currently have.
Between 2009 and 2010, the A400M was almost cancelled by Airbus due to development delays and cost overruns and the project is still plagued by problems. There have been 174 of these aircrafts made to date, with eight different nations holding orders for the transport plane. In March of 2013, this aircraft actually received the European Aviation Safety Agency certificate.
Transport Crashes During Test Flight
On Saturday during a test flight, an Airbus A400M crashed in a field near San Pablo airport in Southern Spain. Four of the six crew on board are confirmed dead and two severely injured.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, declared that all the people on board were Spanish employees of the Airbus company. Airbus has a training and manufacturing center located next to the San Pablo airport. The Airbus center made a statement declaring the plane was destined for Turkey. The airport was shut down due to the crash and flights were diverted to other area airports.
This is the first time that an Airbus A400M crashed. All flights of the plane have been suspended pending investigation of the cause of the crash. Airport personnel stated that the aircraft pilots had reported trouble with the flight just prior to the crash. The plane immediately caught on fire after crashing to the ground.
Although there were fatalities when the Airbus A400M crashed, all of them were occupants of the aircraft. There were no fatalities reported on the ground where the crash occurred.
